2 Years in Dubai | Brutally Honest Review

Summary

After a two-year stint in Dubai, Charlie Morgan returns to the UK, offering a candid review of his time in the city. Initially drawn by tax incentives, Charlie shares both the extravagant allure and the inherent challenges of living in Dubai. While the abundance of wealth, convenience, cleanliness, and networking opportunities dazzle visitors and residents alike, underlying issues such as transient communities, stifling summer heat, poor air quality, and a lack of deep-rooted social life present formidable obstacles. His reflection paints a picture of Dubai as an extraordinary yet isolating experience, prompting him to seek a more grounded and community-driven lifestyle back home.

Highlights

• Charlie Morgan initially moved to Dubai to escape heavy taxes, paying over a million pounds annually in the UK. 🏦
• Dubai's glamour includes supercars, opulence in real estate, and an eye-opening exposure to wealth. 🏎️
• Charlie enjoyed the convenience and cleanliness in Dubai, but missed a genuine sense of community. 🌐
• Winter in Dubai is delightful, but the summer can be unbearably hot and humid. 🥵
• Air quality and construction noise in the city pose significant challenges to everyday living. 🚧
• The transient nature of Dubai's population makes establishing personal connections difficult. 🔄

Key Takeaways

• Dubai's wealth and luxury are unparalleled, but can be overwhelming for those not accustomed to the high-pressure environment. 💸
• Convenience is king in Dubai, with almost anything you can imagine available at your fingertips. 📲
• Cleanliness and safety stand out as major perks of the city. 🚓
• Dubai offers a unique networking hub for entrepreneurs, although social connections can feel transient. 🌍
• The harsh summer climate and air quality issues in Dubai are significant drawbacks for long-term living. 🌞
• A lack of established community and constant flux of residents make it hard to form lasting relationships. 👫

Overview

Charlie Morgan embarked on a two-year journey in Dubai, initially aiming to benefit from its tax-free environment. His narrative unveils a myriad of experiences that embody the essence of Dubai—a city synonymous with extreme wealth and rapid growth. Despite enjoying the captivating skyline and the bustling entrepreneurial scene, Charlie was struck by the realization that wealth and luxury do not inherently create fulfillment or a sense of belonging.

Living in Dubai, Charlie was enamored by its convenience, cleanliness, and remarkable safety. The architectural marvels and the sense of abundance provided momentary thrills, yet these couldn't mask the city's underlying issues. The scorching summer heat, poor air quality, and relentless construction noise ultimately detracted from the quality of life, presenting challenges to those considering long-term residency.

As his journey unfolded, Charlie recognized the impermanence of social connections in a city with a transient population. Desire for deeper roots and meaningful relationships guided his decision to leave. Despite these drawbacks, Charlie acknowledges Dubai's unique appeal and continues to cherish the extraordinary encounters, breathtaking views, and the dynamic yet demanding lifestyle it offered.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Intentions of Moving to Dubai The chapter "Introduction and Intentions of Moving to Dubai" discusses the author's experience of moving to Dubai mainly to avoid paying high taxes in the UK. The narrator lived in Dubai for two years and moved back to the UK. The author explains that while there were advantages to living in Dubai, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits, which prompted their return. The chapter sets the stage for an honest review and personal opinion on what living in Dubai entails.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Personal Background and Initial Impressions The chapter titled 'Personal Background and Initial Impressions' introduces Charlie, an online entrepreneur with nearly a decade of experience. He shares his initial impressions of Dubai, a place he lived for two years but ultimately decided not to settle in long-term. Charlie highlights the abundance of wealth in Dubai, where luxury cars like G Wagons and Rolls-Royce Cullinans are as common as Toyota Priuses, and the city offers a unique perspective on wealth through its billions of dollars in real estate.
• 01:00 - 06:30: Pros of Living in Dubai The chapter explores the benefits of living in Dubai, especially for entrepreneurs or moderately successful individuals from Europe or the US. It highlights Dubai's environment where one is likely to feel like a small fish in a big pond, surrounded by highly successful people. This exposure is portrayed as a positive aspect, broadening one's perspective on possibilities and success.
• 06:30 - 10:30: Cons of Living in Dubai: Social and Lifestyle Challenges The chapter discusses the social and lifestyle challenges of living in Dubai, focusing on the wealth and convenience aspects. The author shares a personal experience of living on the Palm Jumeirah, a place offering a unique perspective on wealth due to its luxurious real estate. The convenience of living in Dubai is highlighted, where everything is fast and accessible through various apps, from getting petrol to healthcare services like blood tests. The chapter underlines the ease of living but implies potential social challenges that come with it.
• 10:30 - 15:00: Cons of Living in Dubai: Environmental and Practical Challenges The chapter discusses the practical challenges of living in Dubai, particularly emphasizing service availability and urban cleanliness. It highlights the 24-hour service culture in Dubai, noting the convenience of having repair services, like air conditioning and plumbing, available even at odd hours such as 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. Furthermore, it praises the city’s cleanliness, describing it as extremely clean, to the point of feeling sterile at times, but acknowledges this as a positive aspect, with no litter or visible homeless presence on the streets.
• 15:00 - 19:00: Cultural and Social Observations Dubai offers a clean and sterile environment, which is highly appealing to many. Additionally, the city is renowned for its spectacular architecture, notably its impressive skyscrapers such as the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa. Despite long-term residence, the novelty of these architectural feats does not diminish, continuously awing residents and visitors alike with their magnificence and the city's unique urban landscape.
• 19:00 - 25:00: Conclusion and Reflective Summary In the conclusion and reflective summary, the speaker highlights several positives about Dubai, emphasizing the appealing aspects for visitors and residents.

2 Years in Dubai | Brutally Honest Review Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 I lived in Dubai for 2 years and I originally moved there to avoid paying tax. I've just moved home back to the UK. So before I moved to Dubai, I was paying about a million pounds a year in corporation tax alone. So I went to Dubai and there were some pros to Dubai and there were some cons to Dubai. For me personally, there are more cons than pros, which is why I've returned. And in this video, I'm going to give you my honest review and honest opinion on Dubai and what you can expect if you
• 00:30 - 01:00 were deciding to move there. For those of you who don't know who I am, which might be most of you, my name is Charlie. I'm an online entrepreneur. I've been in business for nearly a decade now. And um yeah, I gave Dubai a good run for two years, but decided it wasn't for me in the long term. And here's why. So, the pros, there's quite a few. First of all, Dubai is abundant. And it does give you a perspective on wealth that you probably can't get in many other places in the world. G Wagons, Rolls-Royce, Cullinins are just as common as Toyota Priuses. There's billions of dollars of real estate
• 01:00 - 01:30 pretty much everywhere you look. And it is very much a big pond and you will be a small fish in a big pond. If you're an entrepreneur or if you're moderately successful in your community in Europe or in the US, then the chances are is you might be the most successful person in your social group or you know in your in your environment. Dubai, you will not be you will be a small fish. And I kind of liked that element of it because it really opens up your eyes as to what's possible. You've got a V10, V12 engine flying past you every 5 minutes and it's
• 01:30 - 02:00 it's definitely opens up your eyes to the to the world of money. Now, I lived on the Palm um the Palm Jira and I loved it because I could go for a walk and probably see 6 or 700 million worth of real estate in just, you know, a short 15-minute walk up the street. It does give you a cool perspective on money. Second to that is the convenience. Dubai is incredibly convenient. Everything is very fast. There's apps for everything. You can get petrol delivered. You can get anything you want delivered. For example, I wanted to get some blood tests done for my health. I had a nurse
• 02:00 - 02:30 come out 3 hours after I requested and this was at like 5:00 p.m. If you need your air conditioning fixed, someone will come out at 4:00 a.m. If you need your plumbing fixed, someone will be there at 3:00 a.m. Like it is really convenient. The next thing, the next pro is the cleanliness. Dubai is incredibly clean. uh almost too clean. It can feel a bit sterile sometimes, but that's an insane thing to complain about. Yeah. No dog [ __ ] on the streets, no like crap laying around, no like homeless people tents or anything like the the city
• 02:30 - 03:00 itself is really clean and sterile. The fourth thing is the spectacle. It is a massive pro. I mean, Dubai, there's no place like it. It is phenomenal. It is like the s the buildings, the cities, the the spectacle of of the skyscrapers um and the things that they've built are insane. And even after living there for a year or two, you'd think the novelty wears off, but I could see the Burj Laarab and the Burj Khalifa, the you know, tallest building in the world from the beach on my house and it never failed to sort of amaze me and I was like, damn, this is a pretty cool feat
• 03:00 - 03:30 of engineering. And you still get a lot of that and especially when you have visitors in Dubai, they're going to love it and there's lots of tourism stuff to do. The next thing is the winter weather. So obviously I am from the UK and you know the winter can kind of suck in terms of the cold and the darkness and the rain. Over there it is gorgeous. You know you have got these nice you know mid20s nice and sunny nice and cool in the evenings. Uh it's beautiful in the in the winter. It really is. But that comes with a price and we'll talk about the summer in a second. Obviously the next thing is the taxation. Another pro there's no tax, right? No income
• 03:30 - 04:00 tax. There is a 9% corporation tax and there is VAT, so value added tax on transactions that you make with other companies in the UAE. Um, but the tax system is moving very quickly and there is actually a con to the tax system um that I really do not like that we'll talk about in a second, but obviously there's no tax. The other thing, this might not apply to you so much, but something that really helped me was the growth of my personal brand. So I have this YouTube channel and you know I've been running YouTube from my house in
• 04:00 - 04:30 Dubai for what nearly 18 months, two years and you know having like a nice house on the palm like it definitely helped me capture more attention than I otherwise would have you know by having a fancy house and a fancy view and stuff. So there was that. The next thing is Dubai is is certainly conducive to good habits because heavy drinking is illegal or at least heavily discouraged. Pornography is um illegal. Drugs are illegal. All the bad stuff. Gambling's
• 04:30 - 05:00 illegal. You can't really do any of it. And that's a good thing because if you struggle with any bad habits, then you know it's illegal to do them and you will have to face the book of law if you do partake in stupid things. And you know, I think that's a really good thing. Um I personally don't really struggle with any of those addictions. So I was I wasn't too affected by it. But I know some people that moved to Dubai who were like smoking weed before and then obviously over there it's like you could you could die. I don't know if that's actually
• 05:00 - 05:30 true or not but you know there's some serious consequences and repercussions to degeneracy which is a good thing. The next thing is safety. Dubai is safe. Uh you know the rumors are true. You you I've not seen a single example of violence or you know robbery or crime at all in my time in Dubai. It is so safe. you feel incredibly secure, you know, even in like rowdy pubs or rowdy bars. Um there's no fighting, there's no swearing, there's no like, you know,
• 05:30 - 06:00 maybe maybe a little bit of debauchery, but there's no like heavy crime. You know, you can wear whatever you want. Um watches, jewelry. If you have a girlfriend, you don't have to worry about her getting an Uber. You know, she's she's going to be safe. You're going to be safe. It is very safe. And there is a lot to be said for that. And the reason Dubai is so safe is because the police have so much power and authority. Um, which does come with a con that I will explore in a second. Next thing is networking. So if you are an entrepreneur and you want to talk to other entrepreneurs and network with
• 06:00 - 06:30 other entrepreneurs, then you will have plenty of opportunity to do that in Dubai. Kind of goes without saying, right? It's a bit of a hub. And then the last thing is an honorable mention which is carn. So carn like carnivore but store. Carn store. Carnostol was like is basically a company that I used to buy my meat from. And I would eat steaks like every single day and the by far the best steaks I've ever had. The ribe eyes, the sirloins, the black angus, best meat ever. I like steaks. I eat a lot of meat. Um I do it every single
• 06:30 - 07:00 day. And so for me that was a huge pro. You might not care too much about it, but that's that. But there are more cons. And I want to talk to you about these cons because you know people don't consider these. You know, when you when you look at Dubai on the internet, you see this nice big shiny utopia, but it isn't all it's made out to be. So, let me explain these. So, the first thing and and the real primary reason that I decided to leave was it's near I mean for me at least, it might be different for other people. This is my experience,
• 07:00 - 07:30 right? It's impossible to emotionally unpack. And living in Dubai feels like you're on holiday or in an Airbnb because in order for you to have a healthy life, you need to have people that you love and you need to have a social life and you need to have a love life. You need to have family life and stuff like that. The issue with Dubai is everyone plans to leave. It's a revolving door of a city which means that people come and people leave. And 90% 95% of the people that I knew in
• 07:30 - 08:00 Dubai did not plan on staying there for the long term. So if you moved into a burrow of London or let's say you moved into somewhere in Europe, you're surrounded by people who have their jobs there, their families there, their kids there, their dogs there, their schools there, and they and they intend to stay, which means you can build a life with these people. But in Dubai, everyone I knew didn't want to be there for more than 5 years or intended to leave or they were only there for half of the year because of the summer. Huge con because you can't build like a
• 08:00 - 08:30 consistent social life, a consistent love life. It's it's really tricky and I found that difficult. Um it might be different for other people, but you know that's that. The next thing is the summer. Um the summer is is is atrocious. It's awful. The weather is really bad. It's not necessarily the heat, although it gets to like, you know, 45°. It's Celsius. It's way too hot. It's the humidity. It gets incredibly humid. You know, when you like open you're cooking and you open the oven door and you get hit by steam.
• 08:30 - 09:00 It's not quite that bad, but in the summer it is awful. like your sunglasses steam up, you can't really breathe properly. You're going to be just sitting there sweating. You can't go outside. You have to go from air conditioned house to air conditioned taxi to air conditioned office to air conditioned restaurant to air. You can't really go anywhere. You you kind of get this weird cabin fever because it is just so unbearable outside. Um even in like October and September like and you know even in like April it's better but you're still going to be sweating at 8:00 p.m. and it's not very pleasant. So
• 09:00 - 09:30 there is that. Now the other thing and this is a huge one that no one talks about is the air quality. So the AQI is stands for the air quality index and you can you can you can look this up. No one really talks about this but you know when you think about bad pollution and and bad air quality you think about China, you think about Beijing, you think about Mumbai, you think about cities in Bangladesh, you think you know you you see these awful sort of polluted cities. It's interesting to know that Dubai is up there, I think, with the top
• 09:30 - 10:00 don't quote me, but I think it's in the top 10 of worst cities for air pollution and air quality. And if you if you check this out, it's true. You can you can Google it and you'll see it. And then you can compare it to these European cities and stuff, it's really bad. And in the summer, you can you can smell it. You can taste it. Your throat congests. You get like you you'll wake up in the morning with like stuff in your nose that you have to like blow out of your nose like you've got a cold or something. The air quality is awful and it's really bad. And in the summer and even in the winter, you can see it. So,
• 10:00 - 10:30 you know, I used to live on the palm and I would be able to see, you know, buildings, you know, a couple of maybe like a mile or two away from me. And in the summer where the pollution is so bad that you can't see the buildings that are like a mile away, there's just this thick layer of of polluted fog surrounds the city and it's really unpleasant. And you know, I can imagine if you lived in that for any long period of time, you'd get like some serious respiratory issues, but maybe not. I don't know. The next thing is construction. Now, I never really had much of a problem with this
• 10:30 - 11:00 because I was living in a house on quite a quiet street um on the palm, but a lot of people who lived in apartments, they all complained about construction noise. It's relentless apparently. So, like if you're living in like an apartment block or a high-rise, there's always someone changing windows or drilling and apparently that's a huge problem. So, construction noise in apartment buildings can be quite frustrating. The next thing is dating. I found Dubai to be an incredibly difficult dating market. I hate to use the words market
• 11:00 - 11:30 and dating in the same phrase, but Dubai does attract a certain type a certain type of woman. Um, you're less likely to find a wholesome sort of maternal figure in Dubai because, you know, think about the kind of girl that's attracted to Dubai. It's the same thing with like Miami, you know, all these other sort of party cities or, you know, I'm not going to get too far into it because you can make your own mind up on what you want, but for me, um, the girls in Dubai were were not it, at least from a long-term
• 11:30 - 12:00 marriage relationship perspective. So, there is that to consider. And not to mention as well, I think 70% of the population in Dubai is male. So, it is remarkably competitive. But you got to remember that most of those people are workers who you don't even see, you know. So usually the labor is right. So you know they're not really part of the dating market per se. But I did the dating app thing. I did the whole approaching thing and like I didn't nothing really came from it at least not long term um because of the the the
• 12:00 - 12:30 Dubai we call it the Dubaiification of a woman. Um but that's a story for another day. The next thing is you can't drink the water. This is a small con. It's not that deep. So you have to drink bottled water. Um, but one massive gripe that I have with Dubai, and I don't know why the UAE does this, all of the drinking water, all the bottled drinking water, with the one exception of San Pelgro that's imported into Dubai has had the sodium removed from it. So all the electrolytes in the water are removed
• 12:30 - 13:00 from all the drinking water. So what happens is you end up just dehydrating yourself because these electrolytes hydrate you. And because you're sweating so much because of the weather, you drink more water, but you're basically flushing out the electrolytes you've got. So, everyone in Dubai has an electrolyte deficiency. So, what I had to start doing was I bought a funnel and some Himalayan pink salt and some electrolytes. And every morning, I would like, you know, get salt in my water just so I could have electrolytes. I don't know why they do the low sodium thing. I don't know anything about health and water and electrolytes, but I
• 13:00 - 13:30 found that when I had electrolytes in water, I felt significantly better. So, there is that. But you can't drink the water and you know showering in the water. I never found an issue with the water quality from a showering perspective or whatever. So the other con to Dubai is the highway experience. You cannot walk anywhere. You can't really cycle anywhere. You need it's very much a car dependent city, which is fine if that's your thing, but I wouldn't mind it if the driving experience was actually okay. The driving experience is not great if you want to have a car there. Um it is very
• 13:30 - 14:00 much every man for himself. the there's lots of traffic all the time. Like if you're in central Marina, if you're trying to get off the Palm or if you're anywhere near downtown Central, you know, during rush hour, you're going to be doubling tripling your your journey time. So, there is that. And um the the driving is just it's not great there. Um but you can't walk anywhere. Like, you know, one thing that I like about Europe and the main thing I like about Europe is I can walk out of my door now. I can walk to the supermarket if I want to go to supermarket. I can walk to a park. I
• 14:00 - 14:30 can walk to the pub. I can walk down to see my friends, you know, I can cycle across the city and be at an event or something. In Dubai, you don't have that. Everything requires an Uber or a taxi or a van and not that's that's a that's not my cup of tea. Um, the next thing the next con, and this is I said I'd talk about this with the tax thing, the tax rules in the UAE are very very very unclear. And for example, there's a 9% corporation tax. And I've spoken to many accountants and lawyers
• 14:30 - 15:00 that are, you know, experts in UAE law and taxation, but no one really knows who has to pay it and what it's for and what it's about. And I found that quite difficult. I don't like, you know, tax jurisdictions that don't have clear-cut rules because, you know, then, you know, before you know it, you're liable for a final to make a mistake. And so many professionals disagree on what the UAE is going to do next or who has to pay the taxes and who like the VAT thing and whether salary is taxdeductible. So I I didn't really like that. Next thing, the
• 15:00 - 15:30 next con is associations. So whether you like it or not, there are bad actors in Dubai and there are people in Dubai who you know the the broad um world don't approve of and don't like. And you know, Dubai does have this kind of association of being a place where dirty money goes to get laundered and criminals and drug dealers live and you know, these these crypto dudes that basically are drug dealers but you know hide it through saying they got crypto gains. you become associated with those people and for me
• 15:30 - 16:00 this was quite um quite important because lots of people when they think about Dubai they think about the sort of low ticket course scam and as someone who you know sells information online at higher ticket and not to the not to the broad market. Um that was a huge issue for me and I didn't like to be associated with the sort of Dubai um piece and people. Um so this is another reason why I moved. Next thing is conformity. This is a really interesting one that's going to piss some people off probably. There is a you remember those
• 16:00 - 16:30 memes like the starter pack meme. Dubai has a aesthetic to it and the entrepreneur new money aesthetic. Um that honestly I think Imman Gaji created you might not know who he is but whatever. Everyone looks the same. Everyone wears the same stuff. It's the no logo old money linen shirt linen suit. Like it everyone looks the same. And it's weird. It's everyone conforms to this this um identity which is I
• 16:30 - 17:00 really didn't like it is you know prime example I saw a large group of entrepreneurs um at an event um and it wasn't it wasn't an event that I was attending but I think there was like 40 50 of them and they all looked identical. Now this is not a con for living in Dubai at all. It's just something that I've picked up on is there is a tendency for everyone to merge into this sort of one human. you know in in in Europe in these cities in Europe people we there are individuals you know people are very bold with their fashion or what they wear or how they
• 17:00 - 17:30 look or how they speak but in Dubai everyone sort of morphs into this one single like high value man being and and it's strange it's not a con it's it's just more of an observation really um but everyone looks the same same colors same same brands same shoes same watches you go to a dinner with entrepreneurs you're going to see everyone wearing a day date you're going to see everyone with like Laura Piana loafers You're going to see linen shirts. You're going to see linen trousers. You're going to see you like beige greens and these browns and you're you're going to see Van Clee. It's it's all the same. I can
• 17:30 - 18:00 just I can paint a picture of what the average person looks like in Dubai. So, you know, there is that. It's not that big of a deal to be honest. Um, but that is not to say that Dubai is the biggest flexing market in the world. And what I don't like about Dubai is the constant urge. And this was a me this was a me problem, right? It might not be a you problem. the constant urge to compete for for status. Um, I've never really been one to flex. I've never really I've never bought supercars before. He says,
• 18:00 - 18:30 living on the palm, [ __ ] I've never like been one to wear expensive watches or, you know, expensive brands or whatever. But in Dubai, you feel this pull and this urge towards the the flexing thing. Um, which was completely unlike me. I nearly bought a Rolex, you know, I was looking at buying Lamborghinis and I was like, what the he what am I doing? But when you live in an environment where that's just so normal and in order for you to obtain status, it's a competition. I don't like the competition that it that it invokes. Um, but that might just be me being a
• 18:30 - 19:00 broker. But I don't know, probably not. Maybe. Next thing, big one is isolation. Um, and lack of normal social life. Because Dubai is a car city, you you can't just meet your mates down the pub. You can't just, you know, walk down to see your mate. Dubai is incredibly isolating and social circles are very hard to break into and they're very clicky. Um, now I had a good group of friends in Dubai. I had a couple of different groups of friends that I would play football with or go for dinners with and I met some amazing
• 19:00 - 19:30 people in Dubai that honestly I'll be friends with for the rest of my life, but it took me a good year to crack the social thing. Um, now that's probably of of my own fault for not going out as much, but Dubai definitely invites isolation and it definitely encourages you to, you know, isolate yourself because although you're in this metropolis utopia, you there's you can't just like how the hell do you meet people? You can go to these networking dinners and stuff, but I hated those because the networking business dinners,
• 19:30 - 20:00 they're not real friends. It's just transaction. And then what happens is all your social circle and social life just becomes about what do you do bro? Like you know when you go to one of these entrepreneur you might not know this yet but if you go to one of these entrepreneur dinners or if you are thinking about moving there as an entrepreneur people are just going all they do is talk about work and then those dinners they they are I find them very grinding so I stopped attending them. Um same thing with like yacht parties and stuff like there's been I've I've had some good parties and some good dinners with my friends. I've had some bad dinners and bad parties with people
• 20:00 - 20:30 who aren't my friends. So, you know, you you can do that what you will, but it's very isolating. And if you're if you're the kind of person that likes a sense of community and a sense of like a solid consistent social life, then Dubai is not for you. There is no sense of community in Dubai. None. Like, at least not that I found. It might be a me problem again, but it's very rare to to feel a heartbeat or a soul to the place. Um, depending on on what you want and what that means for you. Next thing is time zones. Big con. Um, you know, now that I'm back here in the UK, I'm back
• 20:30 - 21:00 to my usual schedule of waking up at like 5:30 or 6 a.m. and then I finish work at like 6:00 or 7 p.m. The issue with Dubai is I'm an entrepreneur, right? So most of my team is based in South Africa, the UK, Europe, and the USA. So I'm all remote. Dubai is like, you know, at the best of times 3 4 hours ahead of the UK, let alone the US and South Africa. So, I found myself working till like 11:00 p.m. at night and then naturally waking up at like 11:00 a.m. or like 10:00 a.m. or finishing at midnight. And, you know, the time zone thing is really tricky because you you
• 21:00 - 21:30 start work if you want to start work at 9:00 or if I want to start work at 9:00, my team doesn't start work until, you know, 4 hours after and the meetings get really late and I I didn't like that at all. Next thing is obviously a big one. Lack of nature. Um, I lived on the beach, I lived on the palm, I lived by the sea. Um and it was quiet and peaceful and there were birds and crickets and stuff but it still lacked nature, no green space. Um they they the the city does try to be fair and you know they are they are working on this but there's no natural green space and
• 21:30 - 22:00 there are some the UAE and you know the the Gulf it's a beautiful place. Some of the some of the canyons and the deserts. I've been to the desert. It is gorgeous but it's not integrated and it's not you know it's not just there. You can't just you know walk through a field and you know be in some meadows or something. I don't know what you want but you get my point. The next thing is the police have significant authority and this is a good thing right it is a good thing because you know the police are actually they have authority and you know the government is obviously autocratic which means it's not a democracy. Um I don't know how quite how they run it but the
• 22:00 - 22:30 issue and this is the final con is everyone lives in constant fear. Now I'm not talking about fullyfledged terror. I'm not talking about like con like like you're you're not in this constant state of terror but in everyone I may maybe not everyone but this is a projection but at least for me in the back of my mind I constantly had this slight fear that I was going to do something wrong or piss off the wrong person or bump into the wrong shoulder or say the wrong
• 22:30 - 23:00 thing or do the wrong thing and end up you know arrested and put away in jail. Now, I never did anything illegal and I never did anything wrong, but a lot of people that I spoke to over there shared this same sort of fear and you'd hear all these stories that probably aren't true about people pissing off the wrong local and getting imprisoned. And I don't think that has merit. I don't think that's true. But you because the police and the government there's no it's autocratic in a good way because the leader is incredibly competent and incredibly talented at leading. But what
• 23:00 - 23:30 that means is they they have full control and there there's less accountability. Um, which is a good thing because it's why this city is so safe. But you need to just be aware that there are real consequences to your actions, which is a good I'm not saying this is a bad thing. This is kind of like a conipo at the same time. Um, but a lot of people um, you know, claim to I I didn't have any issues with the police. I found the police to be very friendly. I found them to be very nice and you know caring and and kind and I' I'm you know never had an issue with
• 23:30 - 24:00 them but you just know how much power they have and it's a good thing but it's also a bad thing because there is this fear in the back of your mind that you know what if you get caught swearing in public or something or like you know what if that date you went on because it's not under there you know the the the laws of the country you're not supposed to like have sex out of marriage and you're not supposed to drink and there's the laws it's it's this gray area of of of legality and and you you always end up with this sort of fear in the back of your mind of of what's going to happen. But that's
• 24:00 - 24:30 basically my list of pros and cons. If you want to move, you should. And I I definitely encourage you to try it if you think that it's for you after these after these things. But the main reasons that I moved, the main main primary reasons I moved back was to be closer to my team um and for my business, but also just the community thing, man. Like the community and the air quality were really the two big things for me. Um it's very hard to have a normal healthy integrated social life in Dubai in my
• 24:30 - 25:00 experience probably different for other people but also the the summers and the air quality and having to like uproot your life for basically like 5 months of the year and you know up to just pull up all your ties and then you don't see any f it's just just not for me but it might be for you and I'd encourage you to check it out if you could because there are lots of pros and it is a sight to behold. It's an awesome city. So yeah, that's everything.